La Salle Loses Late Lead as Women’s Basketball Rally to 64-60 Win 

Loyola women’s basketball returned home to host Atlantic 10 (A10) foe La Salle University Jan. 21. The Ramblers came from behind, erasing a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to pull out a 64-60 win. First-year guard and forward Alex-Anne Bessette led Loyola with 18 points, while La Salle redshirt first-year forward Kiara Williams scored a game high 20 points.

Williams opened the game with a second-chance layup. Bessette tried to match it with an open three and layup, but couldn’t make either. Williams scored another two as Bessette’s layup rolled off the front of the rim once more.

After starting 0-3 from the field, Bessette spoke on how she kept her offensive aggression to lead Loyola in scoring.

“I got subbed off and Coach [Allison Guth] just looks at me, and she said ‘You’re good, you’re fine, you’re gonna make the next one,’ and I did, and I think, me personally, when I get one, I just get going.” Bessette said

Graduate guard Alexus Mobley hit a crafty layup, and Bessette got on the board with one of her own after an Explorer turnover to tie it at four. The next possession, Mobley missed a 3-pointer and a jumper, along with a missed three from second-year guard Alexa Kinas, but three straight offensive rebounds gave Mobley a third chance at a layup, which she sank.

Fourth-year Explorer forward Anna Przyszlak countered with a layup matched by one from Bessette. Third-year guard Rosalie Mercille expanded the Loyola lead with an elbow three to make it 11-6. 

Explorers’ redshirt third-year guard Ashleigh Connor was fouled by second-year forward Roisin Grandberry on a good layup but missed the and-one. Grandberry made up for her foul with a three, followed by a Kinas fastbreak layup. 

Williams made another contested layup after her first miss fell out of bounds. Loyola and La Salle traded turnovers to end the quarter with a 16-10 Rambler advantage.

The second quarter opened with a quick La Salle layup courtesy of Williams, matched with one by Bessette. Williams hit a turnaround paint floater, and a turnover from second-year forward Brooklyn Vaughn gave the Explorers a fast break bucket from Connor to cut the lead to two. 

An offensive rebound for La Salle led to a second-chance layup for Williams, who was fouled and bricked the and-one chance to keep the game tied at 18. An airballed jumper from Mobley led to another fastbreak layup from the Explorers, this time from third-year guard Aryss Macktoon to give La Salle the 20-18, forcing Guth to take a timeout.

After a defensive stop, Kinas drew a driving foul and sank both shots to tie it at 20. Mobley regained the lead on a baseline drive, which was taken back by La Salle on a corner three from redshirt first-year guard Lauren Patnode. 

Kinas was hacked on another drive, making one of two at the stripe to tie at 23. Patnode held the hot hand, knocking in her second straight corner three. A turnover on redshirt third-year forward Clara Djoko gave La Salle possession, where Macktoon hit a stepback jumper over Kinas for a 28-23 Explore edge. 

Mobley and Bessette each hit a layup, met by one from Williams. A foul on third-year guard Audrey Deptula sent second-year guard Joan Quinn to the line as La Salle entered the bonus, where she made both shots. Mobley fought back with an aggressive driving layup as La Salle’s shot at the buzzer rimmed out as the Explorers held the 32-29 lead.

The second half started sloppily with both teams turning the ball over before Vaughn fought inside for a lay-in. Williams found herself at the center of La Salle’s offense again, heading to the foul line where she went one of two. Bessette pulled up from the logo, splashing home a three to give Loyola the 34-33 lead and igniting the Gentile crowd. 

Vaughn drew a charge on the next possession, but a Mobley miss led to a fastbreak fadeaway from Macktoon. Mobley made an off-balance floater on the next possession to retake the lead. Kinas and Chivers pressed La Salle on the next possession, forcing an Explorer timeout to avoid a jumpball.

Following a Williams miss, Chivers lost the ball on a strip from the elbow, which the refs said bounced off her leg, resulting in La Salle’s ball. Guth challenged the call, which was upheld. 

Williams sank a lay-in on the resulting possession to take back the lead and a jumpball following a Kinas missed jumper kept the ball with the Ramblers. Chivers bricked a three, and Macktoon took advantage with a quick jumper to extend the 39-36 lead.

Fourth-year Explorer guard Ivona Miljanic took advantage of a Bessette miss to swish a three. Bessette was fouled following a drive but missed both attempts. Quinn came back with a turnaround jumper before Grandberry spotted up for a three from the top of the key. Williams rang in a baseline jumper before Grandberry drew a foul from the corner for three free throws, sinking two.

Grandberry’s corner 3-pointer rimmed out following a Mobley steal, and Quinn drilled a three at the horn to make it 49-40 La Salle. After the quarter ended, Guth and her staff bickered with the referees over a missed travel on the Explorers’ last possession of the quarter.

A Kinas steal ended in the hands of second-year guard Kendall Hendrix, who opened the quarter going coast-to-coast, but missed the and-one chance. A foul on Chivers caused an irate reaction from Guth and the bench, but an Explorer miss led to a Mobley pull-up three to cut the game to four.

Hendrix excited the crowd with a techy up-and-under layup. Another La Salle miss gave Loyola the chance to tie, but Mobley missed, keeping it 49-47 as the Explorers called a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Kinas came up with a steal and was whacked in the face while racing downcourt to gain control before throwing a backward pass to Hendrix, who found Bessette for the easy layup to tie the game at 49. Kinas drew a bloody nose on the floor, needing to be removed from the game to stop the bleeding.

Following misses on both sides, a foul on Mobley sent Macktoon to the line, where she made both. Kinas reentered the game during the trip with her nose filled with tissues. 

After a travel on Hendrix, Bessette poked the ball out of bounds off the Explorers, leading to a Hendrix layup and foul, finishing her shot this time finishing the three-point play for the 52-51 lead. 

Hendrix intercepted an inbound to retake possession, where Mercille found Bessette in the corner for a 3-pointer, which sent the crowd into hysterics. Macktoon fought back for La Salle on a contested jumper to make it a 55-53 game before calling a timeout. 

Bessette threw an over the head pass to Chivers in the corner, swishing another three. Chivers then stole the inbound, and Guth got the timeout off before a jumpball could be called. Mercille missed a three at the shot clock buzzer. With two minutes to play, Loyola held a 58-53 lead. 

Macktoon got a headstart on the inbound but mishandled the pass as she traveled. Chivers’ pass was intercepted, and the resulting 3-pointer attempt from La Salle was off the mark. Bessette drove inside the next possession, drawing a foul and hitting both at the stripe for a seven-minute lead with 84 seconds left.

Williams was sent to the line by Hendrix, where she bricked the first off the back iron and swished the second. A travel on Bessette gave the Explorers an open 3-pointer chance, which clanked off. A second-chance possession ensued, but ended in another steal for Kinas

Kinas missed both shots and was called for a blocking foul, which sent Quinn to the stripe, connecting on both shots. An out-of-bounds call on Chivers ignited Guth again as she debated a challenge. Connor hit a layup to cut it to 60-58. Chivers caught the inbound and drove downcourt before being fouled and sinking both shots for a four-point lead with 24.7 to go as La Salle called a timeout.

Quinn’s elbow three was off, but Hendrix couldn’t handle the rebound. Macktoon missed a jump shot and Loyola won the jump ball, leading to Kinas being fouled and sinking both attempts. Connor made a layup with 3.4 to go to cut it to four, but it was too little too late as a half-court heave from La Salle bounced off the backboard, sealing a 64-60 Loyola win as they moved to 4-4 in the A10. 

Coach Guth spoke after the game on the gutsiness of the team in the win and applauded their strong fourth quarter.

“Our coaching staff is so proud of them because we’re having Jekyll and Hyde quarters that we’re trying to find consistency with,” Guth said. “They’re finding ways to get it done, and that’s the most important piece, that fourth quarter was fantastic.”

The Ramblers head back on the road Saturday, Jan. 24, in a rematch with Saint Louis University after Loyola’s 71-64 home win over the Billikens earlier in the month. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.